[Ecommerce] BBC News: UNDP training civil servants in Linux in Afghanistan

[Manon Anne Ress]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3067871.stm
Tuesday, 15 July, 2003, BBC News
Linux reaches Afghanistan

Technology can help nations develop more quickly says the UN
Afghanistan is being rebuilt with the help of the Linux operating system.

The United Nations is training civil servants in the intricacies of the 
software to help them get government computer systems up and running.

The first civil servants to complete their training in Linux went back 
to work earlier this month.

The UN hopes that training government workers to use Linux will help the 
country close the technology gap that separates it from many other 
countries.

Basic skills

Working with Afghanistan's Ministry of Communications, the UN 
Development Program has been putting civil servants through classes that 
familiarise them with the open source Linux operating system.


Linux is helping the Afghan Government work faster
Broadly free, Linux is becoming a favourite among many organisations who 
want greater control over what they can do with software.

In contrast to Microsoft operating systems, Linux gives programmers much 
greater flexibility to scrutinise the core of the program and to adapt 
it to their own ends.

Linux, built upon the venerable Unix operating system, is the creation 
of Linus Torvalds and its various incarnations have won huge numbers of 
fans because of this freedom to tinker.

Initially, the UNDP has targetted technical staff to give them more 
in-depth skills that will help them end their reliance on external 
contractors and consultants and let them take charge of their own 
technology infrastructure.

Already the Ministry of Communications is thinking about using its Linux 
experts to train other civil servants in computer use and to set up 
advanced network services.

Without such training the UNDP fears that Afghanistan could get left 
behind by countries that are aggressively adopting computer and network 
technology.

Wider and better use of technology would help Afghanistan government 
workers get more done, foster local initiatives and drive reconstruction 
of the country.

The UNDP said that knowledge skills are essential to every nation and a 
vibrant pool of technically competent staff will help Afghanistan forge 
links with other countries.








-- 
Manon Anne Ress
Consumer Project on Technology
www.cptech.org
PO Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
manon.ress@cptech.org, voice: 1.202.387.8030, fax: 1.202.234.5176